Hallelujah Diet

hallelujah-dietPastor George M. Malkmus developed the Hallelujah diet based on what he believes is the ideal diet that God intended for us to eat in the Garden of Eden.

He describes the diet as composed of God’s natural foods that are “bountiful in ‘live’ enzymes that nourish cells and provide true energy”.

George Malkmus claims to have healed himself from cancer following this diet however it appears that there are no medical records to back up his claim.

Reports state that he has since suffered a stroke and high blood pressure and has had to resort to medication to control his condition.

The Hallelujah Diet Basics

The diet is fundamentally a vegan raw food diet. The basic guidelines of the diet are simple: consume 85% raw foods and 15% cooked foods. The cooked portion is usually consumed at the end of the evening meal.

On the Hallelujah diet it is recommended to skip breakfast and instead have only barley grass drinks and fresh vegetable juices. Options for breakfast are given for those transitioning from a standard diet and include such foods as fresh fruit salad, whole grain raw granola, almond milk and sprouted grain toast with almond butter.

Meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, caffeine and alcohol are strictly prohibited.

The Hallelujah Diet also involves the use of a number of supplements including BarleyMax which are sold on the Hallelujah Diet website.

Recommended Foods

The 85% Portion

  • Raw vegetable and fresh vegetable juices.
  • Fresh fruits (limited to no more than 15% of daily intake).
  • Raw nuts, nut butter and seeds.
  • Sprouted beans.
  • Soaked raw oats.
  • Olive oil, flax oil and avocado.

The 15% Portion

  • Steamed or stir fried vegetables.
  • Steamed or baked white potato, sweet potato and squash.
  • Cooked beans such as lima, kidney, pinto etc.
  • Whole grain breads, pasta and brown rice.
  • Soy cheese, rice milk and small amounts of organic butter and mayonnaise.
  • Raw honey, molasses, carob powder, maple syrup (use sparingly).
  • Herb teas, cereal based coffee replacements, bottled fruit and vegetable juices.

Sample Diet Plan

Breakfast

BarleyMax

Mid-morning

Carrot and green vegetable juice (2/3 carrot and 1/3 greens) with flaxseeds

Lunch

BarleyMax followed 30 minutes later by all raw meal of salad or raw fruit

Mid-afternoon

Carrot and green vegetable juice (2/3 carrot and 1/3 greens) with raw trail mix

Dinner

BarleyMax followed 30 minutes later by a large green salad with a variety of raw vegetables followed by nut loaf, baked sweet potato, whole grain pasta or vegetable sandwich on whole grain bread.

Evening Snack

A piece of fresh fruit or a serve of fresh apple or pear juice.

Look here for other vegetarian recipes.

If desired it is allowable to swap the lunch and dinner options so long as only one meal contains cooked food and the total amount of cooked food does not exceed 15% for the whole day.

Exercise Recommendations

Exercise is recommended as part of a balanced lifestyle both for weight loss and general health and is advocated as a method to help with eliminating toxins from the body.

These exercises can be used with the Hallelujah Diet.

Costs and Expenses

The Hallelujah Diet Book $14.99US.

Available from Amazon →

BarleyMax powder $37.95US (2 months supply)

If taking all the supplements recommended in the program the cost is approximately $2000 US per year.

Pros

Cons

  • The biblical basis for the diet is questionable as is the belief that there is one perfect diet for all people.
  • Most people will probably not enjoy this style of eating.
  • Unscientific nutritional explanations.
  • Many long term followers of the diet have had problems including severe nutritional deficiencies, loss of muscle tone, food cravings, chronic tiredness, depression and premature aging.

Not a Healthy Long-term Approach

While it may be beneficial for a short term cleansing diet, the Hallelujah diet is far too low in protein and other essential nutrients to be viable as a health promoting diet over the longer term.

Those who are physically active as well as people with digestive disorders or chronic illnesses will especially fall far short of their daily protein needs.

Malkmus also makes claims that are not supported by current nutritional knowledge and the ‘proof’ provided is that of testimonials by dieters that have generally only been on the diet for a short time period.

If you are looking for a healthy long term approach to weight loss the Hallelujah Diet cannot be recommended.

 By Mizpah Matus B.Hlth.Sc(Hons)
    References:
  • Ness, Andrew R., and John W. Powles. “Fruit and vegetables, and cardiovascular disease: a review.” International Journal of epidemiology 26.1 (1997): 1-13. abstract
  • Malkmus, G. H. (2006). The Hallelujah Diet. Destiny Image Publishers.
  • Donaldson, M. S. (2001). Food and nutrient intake of Hallelujah vegetarians. Nutrition & Food Science, 31(6), 293-304. abstract
  • Donaldson, M. S. (2004). Nutrition and cancer: a review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet. Nutr j, 3(1), 19. abstract

12 Comments or Reviews

Comments now closed
  1. Katy

    Has anyone ever heard of combining; the problem with eating meat is that people combine starch like potatoes or bread or macaroni; the other thing, I really don’t believe the Bedoins whom I have visited in Israel were making cheesecake out of cashews; they had sheep; they ate sheep; they drank milk; they ate pottage; life was much more simple than the Hallelujah Diet; also, I personally do different food plans at different periods of time; food can get really boring; so, I combine sometimes, do Brody sometimes (meat just for flavor); Akins sometimes and then just raw and whole foods. I also have been making smoothies with frozen bananas rather than yogart for years and use any kind of fruit I want.

  2. Jaden

    I have to strongly disagree. Most people REALLY DO enjoy this way of eating and most of the testimonies that are short term is because they had such great success in the very beginning, and it stays that way. Our bodies absolutely do not need more than 10-15 %protein. Our requirement for life sustinance in only 4-6% of our total calories. Go read The China Study, in which Malkmus bases a lot of his claims. You want scientific, peer reviewed, heavily documented research, there you have it.

    And this diet is absolutely THE BEST long term weight loss and maintenance diet. I am living proof.

  3. Aaron

    this diet probably works although if god wanted us to be vegetarians why make animals?hmmmmm msot religions are based on lies.

  4. Angie

    Why don’t u list the Fit for Life and Natural Hygiene Diets?

  5. Latonya

    ONE MORE THING: This site is promoting themselves and their diet product. That is why they are against the Hallelujah Diet. If we checked off the other 99 diets listed, we will find that they are not recommended either. FOLLOW THE MONEY!

    • ted

      Latonya- This site everydiet.org does not have a diet product for sale…we sell no products and are strictly a diet review site.

  6. Latonya

    The book states that people with gluten allergies are helped by this diet because there are substitutes.

  7. Latonya

    Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! We were made to be vegetarians. Read it in Genesis. Man started eating meat after the Flood when no plant food was available. We are able to eat meat, but it causes diseases such as cancer, as well as contributing to high cholesterol and there is nothing really good about it. The blood in meat has the toxins and unpurified junk that the animal had when he was killed. Your kidneys work overtime and are stressed out to process it. Our appetites are perverted and we do not want a healthy plant-based diet. That is why so many are opposed to it. It isn’t salty, sweet or fatty. Blood transfusions and immunizations were at one time scoffed at and banned until it was proven a positive thing. This could well be the same kind of thing–people just need to try it and see if it works. I feel wonderful. This will take over the world eventually. Those who want to eat meat, eat it in moderation as a condiment but not as a main dish. It was never meant for that. We don’t have sharp teeth as carnivores have, and our stomachs provide digestion like a herbivore. Check it out. We don’t need all the protein the govt. says–that is hoopla by the meat/dairy industry for selfish needs. We can and do get all the protein we need by a plant-based diet. Many cultures can tell you this. Get more educated and then come back. Good luck to all. ***Don’t be discouraged by negative things online–just do your homework.

  8. vicki fay

    Can people with gluten allergies do the diet?

  9. Susan

    “Reports state that he has since suffered a stroke and high blood pressure and has had to resort to medication to control his condition.”
    I have been doing my own research,checking this diet out for myself. I wonder, if you make the statement above, shouldn’t it be backed up for the whole of your review to be taken seriously? You make a blanket statement about “reports” but don’t site the reports or the source of the reports. How is that credible? You may impress people who want to be impressed by you, but you make me want to check into this diet more closely because you apparently couldn’t find anything to back up this claim.

  10. Jackie

    I think that it is amazing to see that there are other opinions about this diet. I am doing a research on this diet and have read nothing, but extrodinary things about it. I for one think that it is a breath of fresh air that someone has decided to challenge this “perfect diet”. I still plan to try it out though for my own experience.

  11. Jeanie

    This was a tremendously disappointing and untruthful review of the Halleluja Diet. Obviously you have done your research through biast means.